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Kansas - forgotten in the dusty bins of prog rock history?

I don't know if it's their name, their look, the fact that their not from England?

The fact that Dust In The Wind was jammed down out throats by FM radio in a most cruel manner.

But Kansas was a stellar band and they do not get the props they deserve.

I've been listening to their earlier stuff and albums up to the incredible live album "Two For The Show"

there just isn't anything even close to what these guys were doing... that came after.

Kansas were the last ones in of the great Prog bands from the 70's and maybe that's why they dont get

the same recognition as Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, ect. ( I would agree their body of work is smaller).

But the fact is ..they put out a string of 4 albums in a row that are stellar.

Masque, Leftoverture, Point Of Know Return, and the amazing live document Two For The Show are beyond reproach.

Their first 2 albums Kansas and Song For America are almost good enough to be included in that string of great albums.

And they do have a truley American signature sound, and influence to those works that their English counterparts obviously do not posess, making Kansas somewhat unique....American Progressive Rock.....not as plentiful as U.K. progressive rock by any means.

It's easy now to look back now and see that these bands were taken for granted by some.

forged a million years ago
Black Blade.

Originally Posted by Bro Blue

Tell her it's her fault for going down in the basement before you could get her surprise remodel done.

Comment

Never got into them, I'm not sure why, because I was heavily into Rush and Yes at the time. I think it was probably because FM radio in the 70s and 80s played their two most notable songs and that was it. I unfairly stereotyped them into the same realm as Styx. Years later, when Steve Morse joined for a time, I somehow thought it was a step down for him, rather than a lateral, fully logical move.

In order to fully know Kansas, I needed to reach beyond those two songs. Every now and then, I hear something different from Kansas -- melodic and technical, but not masturbatory -- which floors me and has me think, "OMG, that's Kansas!? Wow!" And then like the wind, it's gone. So I really, really need to explore their work.

Originally Posted by csm

The first, and most frequently violated rule of punk is: THERE ARE NO RULES.

"You know, once you've had that guitar up so loud on the stage, where you can lean back and volume will stop you from falling backward, that's a hard drug to kick." â€” David Gilmour